The Ministry of Education has officially approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence for classical languages across India to advance academic research, digitisation, preservation, and public engagement.
The new centres will be set up at
Tezpur University for Assamese, Visva-Bharati University for Bengali, the Central University of Odisha for Pali, the Central University of Gujarat for Prakrit, and the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune for Marathi. Directives have been issued to the Vice-Chancellors of these institutions to begin implementation.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have
welcomed the central government approval for their respective states. CM Majhi stated that the approval for Classical Pali at the Central University of Odisha will strengthen the state's contribution to preserving India's linguistic heritage. Meanwhile, CM Sarma stated that Assam had been pursuing a dedicated centre at Tezpur University after Assamese received classical language status.
